Proceedings of a Workshop Held at the University of Sydney, 30 November - 1 December 2004

Edited by Diane Austin-Broos and Gaynor Macdonald

This timely collection of articles explores some of the most pressing issues confronting both Australia's Indigenous peoples and Australia as a nation. In the current period of economic strength, Indigenous peoples have found themselves increasingly struggling to develop economic opportunities and to ensure the viability of their social and cultural lives.

This volume brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous contributors from a range of disciplines and experiences. Focusing primarily on remote Australia, they bring together a whole range of issues and concerns that need to be addressed.

The articles are from the proceedings of a workshop of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia held at the University of Sydney, 30 November to 1 December 2004.

Diane Austin-Broos is professor emerita of anthropology at the University of Sydney.

Gaynor Macdonald is a senior lecturer in anthropology at the University of Sydney.

Introduction: culture, economy and governanceDiane Austin-Broos

Part 1: history of the initiatives
1. What can the pre-colonial and frontier economies tell us about engagement with the real economy? Indigenous life projects and the conditions of developmentNicolas Peterson
2. Indigenous art as economyHoward Morphy
3. Land rights and local economies: the Gagudju Association and the mirage of collective self-determinationRobert Levitus
4. Mining projects in remote Aboriginal Australia: sites for the articulation and contesting of economic and cultural futuresDavid Trigger

Part 2: Indigenous disadvantage
5. Indigenous educational disadvantageJanet Mooney
6. The role of discrimination and the exclusion of Indigenous people from the labour marketBoyd Hunter
7. Contested debates about citizenship rights to welfare: Indigenous people and welfare in AustraliaBettina Cass

Part 3: economic futures
8. Indigenous labour supply and regional industryJohn Taylor
9. Economic futures on Aboriginal land in remote and very remote Australia: hybrid economies and joint venturesJon Altman
10. Between a rock and a hard place: economic policy and the employment outlook for Indigenous AustraliansBob Gregory

Part 5: institutions and economy
15. CDEP and ATSIC as bold experiments in governing differently: but where to now?Will Sanders
16. The Indigenous sectorTim Rowse
17. False dichotomies and other barriers to policy-making for Aboriginal communitiesLarissa Behrendt

'The essays present contradictory and provocative positions, and therein lies the book's strength: by incorporating the polarity of views and perspectives, it gives an all‐encompassing account of the current debate. I thoroughly enjoyed this insightful collection of essays, and recommend it as a useful tool to anyone wishing to engage with the discussion on Aboriginal culture and economy.' Alison Reif Anthropological Forum